Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) Syndrome is a respiratory disorder characterized by periodic cessation of breathing caused by upper airway obstruction. Sleep causes the muscles of the upper airway to relax and the associated soft tissues to sag, resulting in narrowing or collapse of the upper airway, and consequent reduction in ventilation. Mild OSA can lead to fatigue, reduced alertness following sleep, and a general reduction in productivity for the affected individual. Severe OSA can lead to sleep deprivation, hypoxemia, and depression.
OSA can have several causes, with each requiring a different remedy. For example, in some cases OSA can be the result of obesity and/or diabetes. In other cases, OSA is caused by the anatomy of the septum, turbinates, palate, tongue, pharyngeal wall, muscle tone in upper airway, epiglottis, and/or uvula. Therefore, individual treatment of OSA requires a study of the causes of OSA in the individual to determine the appropriate form of treatment.
The conventional approach to diagnosis of sleep disorders, such as OSA, has been to require an individual to participate in a “sleep study,” which is completed during natural sleep or artificially induced sleep. During a natural sleep study, the individual is outfitted with an array of sensors attached to the surface of the body and face that monitor the individual's respiration, pulse, and blood oxygen saturation, among other physiological statistics. During a drug induced sleep endoscopy (DISE), during which sleep is artificially induced using midazolam or propofol, a scope is disposed within the airway to determine the source of the obstruction.
Conventional sleep studies, however, have several shortcomings. For example, during natural sleep studies visualization of the airway is not performed, which prevents identifying potential obstructions. Artificially induced sleep studies require the use of anesthesia, which increases the risks associated with performing the study. In addition, inducing artificial sleep may alter the results of the sleep study due to the sleep-inducing drug manipulating normal bodily functions. For example, the structural configuration and function of an airway may be altered when using sleep-inducing drugs as compared to the structural configuration and function of an airway during normal sleep. Moreover, artificially induced sleep studies are typically performed with the individual laying on his or her back, which fails to provide data regarding obstructions when the individual is in other sleeping positions.
Therefore, a need exists for improved medical devices, systems, and methods for visualizing and treating bodily passages.